On Monday Nathan Buckley was asked to swallow an implausible story of a dog and a door knob. On Friday he was presented an equally unpalatable Dogs' tale.

The Bulldogs hit the lead early without needing to play well, were reined in by Collingwood's energy, and made to play well to win. Which they did, finding the gears to play well enough to do what was needed to win.

The narrative of the match was about Captain Bob being back. It was also about an old, new dog - Travis Cloke, who proved also to be an old dog with a new trick - kicking straight. Well, for his first important one anyway.

The most deliciously poetic moment was late in the first term when Cloke marked 55 metres out - his range - and directly in front - not his angle. This time he kicked long and true and confounded Collingwood fans turned as one to one another and asked "Why didn't he do that for us?" They sniggered later when he put a shot from closer range out of bounds, but it was a mirthless giggle, for Cloke's Dogs were home by then.

Collingwood had chosen a tall side trying to outplay the best running team in the league by keeping it off them in the air. It didn't work.

The Magpies' most effective forwards were small - Alex Fasolo and Steele Sidebottom - and their talls Mason Cox, Darcy Moore and Jesse White did nothing. Their cumbersome forward line was made taller by Chris Mayne coming in late for the ill James Aish.

The Bulldogs, in contrast, were playing with their new forward line - with Stewart Crameri and Cloke as additions to a premier line up.

This theoretically should have unsettled their structure. But it didn't. Both players were only ever used as targets forward as an afterthought. They were used if they were in the right positions but not just because they were out there - which had been Collingwood's approach.

Luke Beveridge instead tinkered with his forward line, rotating his players through the wings and half-forward line and taught old dogs new tricks (we're going to stick with this canine theme, OK?).

Jason Johannisen won the Norm Smith Medal surging off half-back last year but he like was swung forward along with skipper Bob Murphy and caused mismatches. He booted a couple of goals in the third term.

The Magpies' ability to stay in the game was based on effort not skill. They had energy and ownership of the ball early, yet conceded easy scores through their own sloppiness.

It was a pattern of the first half that the cleaner Bulldogs could concede contested possession and clearances so significantly, yet effortlessly turn possession into score.

Early on, they were helped in this by being gifted the ball by Collingwood turnovers. And they kicked straight - 9.1 at one point.

Collingwood dragged one of their talls to the bench in the second term and funnelled their attack through Alex Fasolo. He booted three goals the third term and helped Collingwood to recover the lead. Adam Treloar goaled for the first of the second half to give Collingwood a lead but it proved short-lived.

This awoke a slumbering dog (I warned you about that dog theme) and with Marcus Bontempelli - quiet in the main - moved forward, he had a hand in goals and quelling the Magpie rally.

They spread Collingwood's defence and outran them through the middle. The Magpies were pressing up at the ball and working hard to trap it in their zone but they didn't score. Then the Dogs would get them out the back. It was the reason they dominated virtually every statistical column, yet lost.

Collingwood's loss was made worse by Travis Varcoe being reported for a hit to Luke Dahlhaus when he charged in off the centre square. The Bulldog was close to Pendlebury, who had the ball, but probably would not have anticipated the contact.